Sierra Team
by CupcaketheBeastly
Summary: Sierra Team is a strike squad for ONI. Follow the adventures and battles they encounter in this troubled time or war. M for Violence. Updated every Tuesday and sometimes Thursdays. Meaning sometimes two chapters will appear a week.
1. Chapter 1

"Sierra three. Do not engage. Primary target is still active. This mission will not be aborted because of this turn of events. "

"Crap..." the voice sounded like it had come from a pile of dirt. But Spartan 340 knew better. The navy blue Spartan with a red secondary color was hidden behind a tree. The mission was supposed to be simple. No civilians were supposed to be involved. Just a rebellion leader that ONI wanted dead. Jeremy knew it wasn't a good idea to do this to the Spartans. Cam didn't like shooting civilians. And the others would be pretty pissed. But they had their orders. They all knew what it meant to be a Spartan. He looked over at the Purple and black Spartan with them. Her silver visor AA Helmet was barely visible in the moonlight. A DMR was held rather close to her body, keeping it out of the line of sight. The female Spartan 315, also referred to as Lys-315, nodded towards Jeremy.

"The others will be ready soon. And Nik hasn't responded. I think he turned off his Com again." she looked around the tree. Cameron was hidden under a dark blanket, his Cyan foot barely visible. The end of his sniper hovered in the air, probably aimed at someone in the base down below.

"Keep on working on getting Nik on the Coms. I know he's alone but that doesn't mean he can ignore us. Tell Thomas and Chad to hold back on the explosives tonight. Jack and Michael can't ambush if they get shaken off their posts. Lys nodded and knelt back down to begin working on the coms. She tossed a small device towards Jeremy. He caught it, his Commando helmet's visor glistening in the moonlight once again. He tapped a button before bringing it close to his visor. "Sierra Team. Change of plans. Target has civilian children on the inside. We need to try and keep them out of the casualties. Only endanger if needed, understood?" A mutual murmur resounded from the coms. Minus one member of the team.

"Has anyone heard from Nik?" Michael asked, sounding a bit annoyed. Nik was the back-up. He was really supposed to be with Jack and Michael but he said he needed to do something before he ran off.

"Probably out messing with that pistol of his." Cam murmured getting a mutual grumble from everyone. Nik had a special pistol. It had saved his life numerous times. He grew to think of it as his best weapon. It had marks from plasma damage and energy sword scratch that had knicked the gun and not him. Nik had a knack for getting into tough spots with no ammo. Then again that's why he seemed to prefer knives.

"We'll figure that out later. Five and Six, are the charges set? "Jeremy asked, making sure his DMR was ready.

"They're set." Thomas set. A light chuckle could be heard from Chad's helmet. "Fire when ready."

Jeremy looked down at his utility before he pulled a small handheld detonator in his hand. "Cam... Take the shot. It has to be done. "

Cam's breath stopped. Jeremy knew he was focusing on the shot. "I'm sorry little girl... "he whispered. Jeremy heard it. They all heard it. But they were Spartans. They did what others couldn't. A sniper shot rang, glass broke, a scream was heard, and then Jeremy hit the button. The front of the base exploded. Assault rifle and DMR fire could be heard through jack and Michaels Coms.

"Move sierra team! Go go go! "Cameron jumped up and started sprinting, Jeremy and Lys hot on his heels. Lys and Jeremy covered Cameron as he ran down the hill, firing DMR shots, leveling anyone's head as they showed it. Lys reloaded and then slid down the hill, kicking Cameron's ankle out from under him as a rocket flew towards them. It flew above their heads as Jeremy made sure the Rebel would shoot again. Or stand for that matter. Three DMR shots hit the man in the chest before one blew a hole into his face.

Cameron switched position, kneeling, he began sniping soldiers as they moved to the rooftops.

Thomas and Chad charged through the burning wreckage of the explosion, assault rifles flaring to life. Many were gunned down; resounding laughs from Chad could be heard. Thomas jumped before his Jet pack activated bringing him into the air to rein lead from above as Chad threw a grenade, sending the rebels into cover. " I love my job!" Chad shouted throwing another grenade.

Jeremy rolled his eyes as Chad said that. He needed a full psych evaluation soon. When they had the chance he'd have to make that a priority. Jeremy's attention moved back to the fight as his hit team morphed into a bigger group when Michael and Jack joined them. Michael had blood on his white armor. Both were panting. "We had to retreat. When Cameron shot the General, his personal body guard came in. They're packing it heavy. "Jack nodded in agreement.

"Lys... Any luck with Nik? "Jeremy asked looking over at the purple Spartan. He sighed as she simply shook her head. "Then in our book he's MIA. Cam and Lys, work on getting us a ride out of here. There only needs to be six seats now. "Both nodded before taking off, Cameron putting the Sniper onto his back before pulling his pistol on his hip. "Michael, you and Jack go and Re-group with Thomas and Chad. I'll worry about the base. "They both nodded before switching to their assault rifles as they ran down the hall-way.

Jeremy looked after them for a moment, before looking down at the tac-pad on his wrist. He examined it before rolling his shoulders, crouching he began maneuvering down the hallway. If this mission didn't work out it wasn't his fault. Nik was in charge of getting the reactor ready to explode. And now Jeremy had to do his job. Ridiculous...

Slowly, Jeremy peeked his head around a corner before pulling it back. He swallowed a mouth full of saliva. Miniguns were mounted on the way to the reactor. And two men were on them.

Shaking his head, Jeremy pulled his SMG from his hip and turned off the safety. "Here we go... "With a yell he turned the corner and began spraying, all the while hoping his luck would last enough to let his bullets hit the target.


	2. Round Two

"Cameron what do you see?" The only female Spartan of Sierra team hissed towards her cyan colored companion. Her DMR was pressed tightly against her chest, her back hitting the wall as he backed up into it more. Her eyes were watching the entrance to the barracks. She doubted anyone would be there, after all, she still heard screams of agony coming from the four Spartans holding off the force in the main corridor.

"I see two warthogs, four mongooses, one hornet, and a couple civilian vehicles. " Cameron lifted his eyes from the sniper scope and glanced over at Lys. "It looks pretty empty. I think that some of the Rebel's must have come here, either to make a run for it, or to grab a bigger stick if you know what I mean." Cameron slipped the sniper onto his back and pulled out his magnum, he tilted his head to the side, nodding towards the barracks. "Slowly the two Spartans crept forward. "Our best bet would probably be the warthogs. If not I say mongooses for speed." He rolled his shoulders lifting his pistol as Lys moved towards the door.

Lys nodded at Cameron's assessment. She blinked looking at Cameron as he motioned to her with a flick of his hand. She nodded before crouching. Cameron nodded and she flew, her feet barely touching the ground as she sprinted. She jumped into the air and fired one bullet of her DMR, sending the doors handle to fly off. She tucked her knees to her chest before letting them explode outward, her feet ramming into the door. The metal groaned before it flew off the hinges with a clatter. Lys hit the ground hard, from the impact, but it didn't faze her. She watched as Cameron rolled through the opening she'd made. She stood quickly before sprinting into the room. She bumped into Cameron making them both stumble. "Cameron what's wron-" Her voice trailed off. She let her gun lay loosely in her arms as she looked around.

"So this is what he was doing…" Cameron whispered. Lys didn't respond. Cameron shook his head before walking out of the room. Lys stayed to examine more. Slit throats, and stab wounds filled this room. She was glad her helmet had a filter or she knew she'd smell the blood. Men laid in their bunks dead before they opened their eyes, while others seemed to have put up a fight. Broken necks and bones could be seen in a few bodies. He was quiet. It was the way he liked to be. It looked like he hadn't used his pistol once. She exited the room to see Cam with his helmet off. His hair was blonde, cropped short, though a few curls were starting to become visible. He smacked the helmet one more time before putting it on his head. "Can you hear me now Jeremy? I said we found traces of Nik."

Thomas sighed as he fired another burst from his assault rifle into another enemy. He glanced at Chad out of the corner of his visor. He wasn't def. Even with Chad's reputation as a nut, this was overboard. Chad was laughing every time someone hit the floor. "Shut up!" he shouted looking at the black armored Spartan. Chad's Mark V helmet moved and Thomas knew Chad was looking at him, while blindly firing his assault rifle. Chad shrugged before moving back into the fight. Thomas shook his head before blinking as DMR shots joined in with his assault rifle shots. He glanced to his right to see Jack and Michael running up before ducking for cover. "Glad to finally have some help." Thomas said with another glance at Chad. How the heck did he get stuck into situations like this? Bodies were filling the corridor outside of the makeshift cover the Spartans had.

Michael looked at Thomas and nodded. He looked at Jack. Of course Jack was focusing more on where his shots were landing than the mission. "Jack take out the ones that come on the left. Thomas and I will take the middle. Chad… Try to cover the right?"

"Will do. " jack said adjusting his position to focus more on the left.

"Alright, let's do this." Thomas said. A quick roll of his shoulders confirmed he was ready.

All that could be heard from Chad was a resounding chuckle before he rolled to the right, completely exposed. With a happy scream Chad began firing, his shield starting to glow as bullets impacted with it.

"Chad!" Thomas screamed before he dove to the floor. Grabbing Chad's ankle, he yanked out Chad's footing before pulling him back into cover. "No Chad! Stay here and fight. Don't do that again alright!" Thomas slowly moved next to Michael again, who was shaking his head.

Chad pouted for a moment before a subtle "Fine…" could be heard.

As the four Spartans got into position they all blinked. It was Thomas who responded to what they all had heard. "Traces of Nik? Meaning… My God…"

Jeremy blinked, the two turret men had gone down easily enough. But he hadn't known that another three men had been going to join the battle in the corridor. And now Jeremy was pinned down, with limited ammunition. He pushed his last clip into his SMG, he'd used all his DMR ammo on the way in, and he hadn't brought a magnum today. Jeremy blinked slowly raising his head to look over the metal crate he was hiding behind. A large glass window was next to him, and he was barely in cover. Jeremy blinked, what had happened to the three soldiers? By the time Jeremy heard the scuffle of feet behind him, his turn had been too late and the butt of a gun smacked into the side of his helmet. Jeremy fell to the ground, his SMG sliding away. His shields bar flashed red as the soldiers all aimed their guns at him. "This is for little Gracie. You and your bastard friends should have never come here… "The man's Russian accent was thick.

As the man snarled and aimed the gun at Jeremy's head, Jeremy stared straight at the man behind his black visor. Death was a part of life. All the Spartan's knew it and accepted it. So this didn't bug him one bit. So as Jeremy stared at the soldiers, he didn't miss when a knife hit the man's neck with a low _thunk_.

Jeremy blinked as blood dripped onto his visor as the man gurgled before falling to his knees. The other two soldiers looked up to slowly, another knife plunged into the man on the lets throat with incredible speed, sending him to the floor. A steel colored Spartan with a CQC helmet, a multi threat and Para shoulder, glided through the room with incredible speed. The newcomer dove as the Rebel fired his gun. The Steel covered Spartan's shields pinged as the bullets bounced off it. The Spartan's mass hit the man like an unstoppable force. Its arms wrapped around the rebel's waist before it pushed off the ground again, sending them both flying through the glass window.

Jeremy heard a scream from the rebel before he heard the impact. Slowly Jeremy stood; he picked up one of the dead soldiers Assault rifles and removed the spare ammunition from the bodies. Blood was still dripping from around the knives; Jeremy examined them for a moment before he yanked both out, sending pools of blood to fall from the necks. He wiped them on the rebel's uniforms before sticking them into his soft case utility.

He stood and rolled his shoulders, his shields re-charged, Jeremy began walking towards the reactor. He heard what Cameron said and he shook his head. "You found traces? Well I think I just saw him. That idiot just saved my life…"


	3. The Escape and Discovery

"Team, the reactor is set. We leave in ten minutes. Double time it Sierra team." Jeremiah-340 yelled into his com as he sprinted down the hallway. He jumped in the air as another group of five crossed his path. A kick to the side of the head killed one of them instantly, as his brain was jogged a little too hard. Jeremy landed and threw his hand up under the gun of the soldier who was attempting to fire on him. He raised it up and let the SMG shots pile into the rebel behind him. Yanking the gun from the man's hand he pulled it back and threw it into the next rebel's face, sending the poor soul to the ground, his face now caved in. Jeremy ducked as a DMR was shot, hitting the soldier whose gun he'd stolen in the forehead. Jeremy lashed out, his fist connecting with the man's right knee while he was still crouched. The rebel screamed as his leg crumped, his leg now a useless stump. Then Jeremy simply raised his hand and fired twelve shots of his own SMG right into the last rebel.

Jeremy sighed and stood before sprinting again, leaving the one soldier with a useless leg behind. No time to slow down for a not nesicary kill.

As Jeremy did this, Lys-315 and Cameron-290 were stealthily sneaking through the vehicle compound. Jeremy's yell into the mic had made them double time it. They both maneuvered in the shadows, crouched. Cameron had his sniper out and Lys her DMR for the moment. The warthogs were only 40 yards away. Cameron looked at Lys and waved a hand. She nodded before lifting a hand. Slowly she closed her hand, one finger at a time until it was s a fist. The countdown was done. Cameron and Lys sprinted into the light across the solid concrete floors. A startled cry was heard, but was shortly silenced as Cameron's sniper found his stomach. Cameron had spent days practicing his sniper firing. So when the time came, he could rely on it in close quarters. The Cyan Spartan blinked as Ly's DMR shots erupted, and the men in the watch tower in the north east corner, began dropping like flies. Cameron fired his remaining three shots into the south east corner, and two bodies fell off the tower and one hung loosely on the railing.

Ejecting the clip of his gun, Cameron quickly reloaded. Five Rebels' came from behind one of the doors into the compound. And since Lys was still working on the towers, Cam smirked and fired his four shots. For soldier's fell as blood began seeping from their chests. The last soldier charged and sprayed with his assault rifle. Cameron didn't have time to reload. He ducked for a moment, tossing his gun up; he grabbed it by the barrel. With a loud grunt, Cameron swung the sniper like a baseball bat. There was a sickening crack. Cameron blinked watching the last soldier fall, his head turned completely around. Flipping around his sniper Cameron reloaded his gun and looked at Lys. The towers were empty, all thanks to her. He knew she was either smiling or looking very grim at the moment. Her accuracy with that weapon was incredible.

Together they moved, Cameron circled around the back of the warthog and pushed the sniper onto his back as he got into one warthog, while Lys moved into the others driver seat. Lys peeled out of the parking spot first, and Cameron followed after her. "We've got transportation. We'll be at the north entrance in Two minutes. We leave in seven at minimum." She got grunts of acknowledgement that were barely audible over some of the gunfire heard.

As Lys, and Cameron were on their way, Thomas, Chad, Michael, and Jack were holding the chamber. "Come on guys. They don't have many more." Michael yelled into the com as he fired his DMR again. He blinked, "Incoming!" and then he began firing rapidly. The last group of rebel's hurled themselves over the barricades. There were at least thirty.

"Oh boy! Fun time!" Chad yelled as he began firing his AR. Jack and Chad were kicking at their enemy while firing controlled bursts of AR shots into the others.

"My lord! Handle them quickly! We got to go!" Jack screamed as he sent another kick into a man's abdomen. Michael roared loudly and ducked and ran through two of them, putting his shoulder into their rib cages. He grunted throwing one of them to the ground, making a bit of concrete crack.

Thomas blinked firing his assault rifle. Then suddenly three rebels jumped at him. Thomas stepped back and fired into them killing them quickly. "Four minutes team! Let's go!" Thomas screamed. He suddenly felt a weight on his back, then more was added, and then another load. He blinked, glanced back as best he could. Four rebels had jumped onto his back, and were pounding on his shield with bare hands, failing miserably. Thomas jumped back, slamming them into the ground. He let his jet pack activate. " Idiots… "He said as the blood curdling screams started as his jet-pack burned those underneath him. As Michael tossed another one to the side, Thomas lifted a leg, and the Rebel's neck landed on his shin. Thomas blinked bringing his other leg down to break the guy's neck. Quickly Thomas rolled off the charred body, to see Chad stab someone in the stomach with his tactical knife, all the while screaming about tacos.

"Everyone down!" Jack shouted loudly, and out of instinct everyone dropped to the ground as a rocket flew overhead. Chad yelped loudly, as if surprised. Then another shot rang out. But it wasn't a Rocket, luckily. The rebel wielding the rocket launcher looked down surprised. Blood was dripping from his chest, and part of his shoulder was missing. He turned, to stare into the silver visor of Nik. The man's silver armor, had grenades of a belt, and six knives, three strapped to each chest. Two other knives were on the back of each shoulder, and two behind the neck. Four were strapped to the left side of his leg in thin sheaths, as well as his right, each leg was missing one knife.

Nik raised his head a bit as he blinked behind the visor. "Bye bye… "He fired another shot. And luckily for the rest of the present Sierra team, the man fell forward so they didn't have to see, his now mutilated face. Nik leaned down and ripped a strap with shotgun ammo on it off a dead rebel. "Sorry I'm late. I had other things to worry about."

"Nik look out!" Michael screamed. One of the soldiers, who had appeared to be dead, had lifted the rocket launcher and was now aiming at Nik. The silver and black Spartan moved to slow, he began shifting to the right, but his eyes widened as he heard the click of the trigger. Then an incredibly strong force slammed into his right side, knocking the wind out of Nik and slamming him to the ground. Jeremy pushed off Nik on the ground, and fired his SMG into the soldier. Now the room was covered with the dead….

Jeremy slowly shoved two knives into Nik's empty hand. "I believe those are yours." The navy blue Spartan stood, and so did Nik, who was pushing the knives back into their designated sheaths. He then leaned over and picked up the shotgun. He began reloading it, all the while looking at everyone. He could just picture the glares behind the visors.

Jeremy reloaded his SMG before he picked up a DMR from a dead man's grip. "You disobeyed and order Nik. You almost cost us the mission. You know the punishment is-"

"Look, I had my reasons. I'll take whatever the heck you can give me. But right now we need to go." Nik said. And without so much as a backwards glance, he began trotting towards the exit. Reluctantly, and with many sounds of annoyance, the others followed.

It wasn't hard to find the warthogs. Dead bodies filled with chain gun bullet holes pretty much lead a trail straight to Lys and Cameron. The two Spartans looked at Nik, and then the others. They had heard what happened over the coms. But the silence was still odd. "I'll drive and Cam will take the turret. Jack can be in the passenger. Michael, Jeremy and Chad can be in the other. " Lys said.

"What about Thomas and me?" Nik said looking back at the building, his rear side facing the team.

"Well originally I and Cam got two warthogs. That's six. Then two people drove up on a mongoose. We dispatched them easily and managed to get it here." She stated simply, as she got into the driver's seat.

"Fine… I'll drive." Nik said, but he was shoved aside by Thomas, which made him blink.

"No… I'll drive. Knowing you, we'll flip over." Thomas said as he mounted the mongoose. Nik didn't protest. He silently hopped onto the back of the mongoose. No one could see behind his visor, so it wasn't certain if he was angry. Actually, no one had seen behind his visor since they'd gotten the armor. He only took it off when he was alone for some reason. So no one knew how he'd ended up looking after puberty.

The team drove in silence away from the base. That is until the blue explosion of the reactor, which made Chad stand in his seat and yell. "KABOOM!" But other than that. All was silent, except from the occasional question from Jeremy.

After an Hour or so, the team met at the rally point. And they all entered the pelican that was waiting it took them to the _Dragon's claw_. It was the ship that would take them back to Reach for the de-briefing. All the Spartans except Nik, had there armor removed, and went to their designated quarters. Nik remained however, in the Spartans control room on the ship. He pulled out his pistol. It had a plasma burn on the handle, and a thin centimeter deep scratch across its length. It wasn't a shiny magnum any more. It never would be. His gun had been worn down so much over the years. Lightly, he pulled out a few tools and began tinkering on it.

When the last person left the control room to head to the rooms, which happened to be Lys, Nik didn't even look up…


	4. Orders and explanations

Sierra team only managed to get roughly six hours of sleep. They had to be dressed and ready for a meeting with a couple only spooks, and Dr. Hasley bright and early. And like most Spartans, no one wanted to upset Dr. Hasley. She was essentially the not so friendly mother to them all.

At 0700 hours, seven of the Spartans were in full dress, black suits with pins indicating rank on the sleeves and such. Jeremy looked over them lightly, his blond hair parted neatly and his blue eyes awake, full of energy. He scanned everyone, Lys with his hair that barely reached the back of her neck, though her hair was beginning to cover her eyes. She was one of the few, who as kids nearly killed the man shaving their heads for training. Thomas' hair was short and curly. His 6'6 height making him stand in height with Michael and Jack, the giants of the team.

Cameron looked sleepy, his eyes half closed, and his blond hair in little bunches of curls. It needed to be trimmed soon to meet up with the usual hair length. Jack and Michael had resolved to not worry about hair too often, and thus had shaved heads. They stood next to each other brown eyes from both staring straight ahead.

Jeremy nodded. "Team this isn't our first run through with Oni. We've worked with them all our lives. Why do you all look ready to rush back to your quarters and get you guns out?"

Cameron was the one to say what everyone was thinking. "It's the Covenant sir… None of us understand why instead of sending us to fight them, we were sent to do some dirty work a few ODSTs could have done."

Jeremy nodded. He couldn't lie about not feeling the same way. "It's not our job to question orders. It's our job to get whatever they throw at us done flawlessly." He rolled his shoulders and held back a yawn before glancing at them all. Only seven of them were here. "Where's Nik ran off to this time?" He knew everyone was getting sick of his antics, constantly covering his own agenda. Out of all of them, Nik was the most trouble.

Thomas looked down at Jeremy. "I saw him leave this morning. He still was in full armor; he said he had to meet with ONI a little early. He'll meet us there."

A wave of relief hit Sierra team like an ocean breeze. They at least knew he was going to be there.

"Alright let's go then." Jeremy said, and they all began moving towards the ONI base. It was about a ten minute walk, in which they all poked fun at each other and managed to talk about recent upgrades of weapons. But one thing that never came up in conversation was the Covenant. It was like a silent rule for Sierra team. Never speak about the Covenant unless it was needed. Not after Nik's incident.

Around a year ago, Nik was sent on a solo mission to New Harmony. Before the mission, Nik knew how to joke around and have a good time. He followed orders and was close with everyone on the team.

After the mission however, Nik came back changed. He was quieter, only treasuring his pistol. He never took off his armor and always seemed… Tense. As if waiting for something to blow up. The only thing the rest of Sierra team had managed to get details about was that Nik went onto Harvest with a five man ODST squad. He'd only come off with himself, and he was wounded. They'd found him flying in a Sabre about a week after Harmony was glassed.

His return was bittersweet. Now he was less reliable and had been demoted once.

The team stopped in front of The ONI building for a moment and all knew they were being scanned by someone's eyes behind the cameras. After thirty seconds the gates opened and the crew stepped into the building. A female attendant led them to the designated room.

No one was surprised when they saw Nik leaning over a table that had a digital map hovering over it. His silver Spartan helmet glanced over at them. "I took the liberty of making sure diagnostics were run on all your armor. Cameron your scout helmet shouldn't have any more COM issues and Jeremy your helmet has been replaced according to these records. Everyone else was fine." Nik spoke quickly before he looked back at them all. Scanning it behind the visor, Nik occasionally shook his head.

From next to Nik, a woman, who was short in comparison to Nik had her arms crossed. Dr. Hasley looked a lot older than they day they'd all begun training. Now gray hair and wrinkles or stress marked her face. "You all know why I'm here." All of Sierra team nodded. "All Spartans have been recalled to Reach under my orders."

Lys blinked lightly, a bit of shock moving onto her face. "We were told-"

"You were told an ONI spook told you to come back here. That spook? A myth. Nothing more than a few quick records inserted into the files. It was all my doing." She uncrossed her arms and looked at the map next to Nik for a moment before looking back to the team.

"Last night, I sent Spartan 364 there on his own. He retrieved for me a very vital piece in our war against the Covenant. I apologize for the secrecy but I didn't want everyone and their soldiers knowing about this." Hasley lightly moved to the map table before she hit a few keys. An image of a Covenant cruiser appeared on the table. "I know you are all ready to tell me what I did was illegal, but you will all understand soon.

Sierra team watched her as she moved to face them again. "That Rebel leader you killed? He used to be a scientist of mine who got too greedy. Before he left ONI I found out he figured out how to track the unique alloys used in the Covenants ships. 364 retrieved the information on how to do this for me." Nik looked up at them. Thomas could almost picture his 'I told you so' face. If only he knew what his face really looked like now.

"The point is… After our last fight with them, which appeared to be victorious, they're slip space patterns indicate they will be arriving at Reach shortly."

A few people gasped but it was Jeremy who spoke. "How soon?"

"Hours." Hasley said and everyone, even Chad looked grim. "I called you all because you were the only Spartans on Planet who I know of. I'm not sure if I can trust this Noble Team that has been making it known since I don't know any of them accept…" She trailed off before shaking her head. "Never mind it's not important. The point is, The Master Chief will have his own problems on the planet, but I need people I can rely on. When this planet becomes the underworld I need to know that you will do your best. By that I mean… You will be fighting hordes of Covenant on your own. I know you've trained for it and know as much as can be taught about them. But Nik is the only one here who has fought them before. Meaning, in all else listen to what he says if he gives you advice for god's sake."

She sighed lightly before leaning on the table. "Now when this goes to hell..." Hasley rubbed her forehead with her eyes closed. "I most likely won't be able to get into contact with you. But do me a favor. You're one of the only independent Spartan teams. When it comes down to protocol, if you believe you can do a better job not following orders… Then disobey and do what is needed. Understood?"

"Understood." Everyone said at once.

"Good. And if the planet falls, I want you to get off as fast as you can. A Spartan is worth more than twenty marines. And you will play a key point in ending this war." Lightly she stood to full height. "Now go… Double time Sierra Team. Get your suits on and get set. It's about to get a lot louder outside."

As if on schedule, chatter began coming through the radios. "MOVE!" Jeremy yelled and all the Sierra team began to sprint out of the doors. Nik had no doubt they'd sprint till they got their armor on.

Dr. Hasley looked up at Nik and stared at him for a long time. "You ok?" she asked.

"Yeah. I'm just not too thrilled about the Covenant."

"And my orders I take it?" Hasley retorted crossing her arms as if amused, even in the situation they were in.

Nik chuckled a bit. "That's not to thrilling either. You know if I have to act on those orders, they'll damn me to hell before they'll believe me." He leaned on the table lightly.

Hasley smiled lightly. "That's precisely why I gave them to you. Your reputation has been forced in the direction its going. No one will suspect it from you of all people. You're the bastard of the team anyway. The annoying one." Her face went grim again as more chatter resounded from the radio.

"I've got work to do. I have to be prepared for everything." Dr. Hasley turned to leave. She stopped at the door that would lead her farther into Sword base and turned to look at Nik. "Do you regret being a Spartan Nik?"

The silver Spartan was quiet for a minute. "No ma'am. I regret nothing… I can't afford to regret anymore." He slowly stood at full height and walked towards the door his team had left from. "Good luck Ma'am. I hope when this fight it over, we'll be able to meet again someday." Nik exited the building the doors sliding shut behind him.

Hasley heard the starting up of his mongoose before its engine grew distant. "A dangerous philosophy Nik. But you know as well as I do that your orders mean death." She whispered before she entered into the labyrinth that was called Sword base. She looked around before moving towards her lab. She had a lot to prepare for.


	5. And so it begins

Sierra team was on the move all ready. The Spartans rushed past groups of marines and ODSTs who were getting assembled for battle. It was official; about twenty minutes ago Noble Team had confirmed Covenant presence on Reach. Everyone was now on alert; fear was like a disease that spread through the ranks. So as seven Spartan II's rushed past groups of soldiers fully armed and looking fierce, people were murmuring nervously to their best friends, who would most likely be dead by the weeks end.

Michael's visor scanned the crowds of soldiers before he glanced over his own team. Thomas was holding a rocket launcher, an assault rifle strapped to his back and a pistol on his hip. Jeremy and Lys both had DMRs and Assault rifles. Cameron had a pistol and his sniper, with some spare ammo cartridges. Chad and Michael both held an assault rifle, and dual pistols hugged both their hips. Jack had a DMR and a pistol, always wanting the headshots and never a weapon that wasn't semi auto for him.

"Where is Nik?" Thomas asked as they ran for the Falcons. He adjusted the rocket launcher on his shoulder lightly as they ran.

"_Here… I'm on my way. Got caught up in talking to Halsey for another minute. I can see the base from here." _Nik's voice echoed through the coms. Good he was almost there; at least he wasn't riding solo again.

The team slowed in front of the falcons that were waiting for them. Jeremy, Lys, and Michael entered one, while Jack, Thomas, Chad entered another. Cameron didn't like riding shotgun, so he ordered the pilot to get out before he jumped into the pilots seat himself. The blades above both falcons began spinning. "Come on Nik… Hurry…" Jeremy muttered as tension began to grow.

"_Guys! Get out of there! Something just jumped right over the base! Take off n-"_

Shocked silence from Nik's demands in the com was interrupted by a not so friendly yell of "Get us off the ground!" by Michael.

The Falcons began to lift when a sudden explosion made the vehicles fly back into the ground, crashing before sliding another twenty yards. Jeremy's falcon slammed into the base wall, while Cameron's remained in the open.

"_Drop pods! Guys get outta there now!"_

Jeremy felt dazed as he stood, He saw Lys and Michael beginning to stand, and the falcon was on its side which left only one way out, straight up through what used to be the side. "The pilots dead." Michael reported.

Jeremy held up his hand for silence. He could hear chatter from outside. But the chatter wasn't human. Suddenly they heard a noise that they'd been trained to fear.

"Plasma grenades! Get behind the seats!" The team ducked behind their seats, but the explosion still threw them back. A jagged hole appeared in the bottom of the falcon, revealing sunlight, as debris shot around the cabin. Lys, Jeremy, and Michael didn't move a muscle as their shields slowly began to reboot.

"_Contact! Enemy tango's at my six o' clock!"_ Cameron's com roared. Suddenly a face appeared in the hole from the explosion. It was grotesque and ugly, its beady eyes staring at the much alive Spartans. The grunts scream of alarm was cut short by a DMR shot from Lys, splattering blue blood onto Michael's white armor.

"We've been engaged!" she said loudly.

"Ya' think?" Michael retorted before he began emptying his assault rifle outta the hold as more grunts began to appear. Jeremy and Lys both began firing for head shots.

"They knew where our base was! We have to warn the other marines!" Jeremy shouted as he reloaded his DMR.

"I'm sure they know Jeremy!" Lys yelled before she smacked a grunt that got close to the hole with the butt of her gun.

"Oh crap guys! Elites! General class!" Michael yelled as he began firing his AR into the General, feeling dismayed as his bullets pinged off its shields.

Jeremy threw a frag out of the falcon before saying. "Cameron, how is your group holding up?"

Static resounded for a moment before Cameron screamed_. "We're being backed up by some ODSTs. I can see five elites heading towards you guys, we'll get there as soon as possible!"_ Gunfire resounded from the coms. _"Come on! Buck and Dutch! Let's move up!"_

Jeremy blinked, they wouldn't make it in time, The Elites were already firing on the fallen Falcon.

"We can't handle much more plasma. We got to get out of this thing!" Lys shouted and Jeremy agreed.

"Michael Take point!" Jeremy ordered and he watched as Michael jumped out of the Falcon, then Lys. As he was jumping out of the hole, the ship exploded.

The Spartans were knocked forward, closer to the elites. Jeremy looked up from the ground, he saw Michael firing with his two pistols, his assault rifle blown out of his hands by the explosion, and Lys was holding her own Assault Rifle. Jeremy saw his DMR about twenty feet away, and his assault rifle was about thirty feet to his right, blown clean off his back. The Elites were advancing, expertly dodging bullets, rolling this way and that as they fired.

Jeremy pushed off the ground and ran for his DMR, sprinting as elite began to block his path. Jeremy pulled out his pistol and began firing as he sprinted. He fired a full clip before the things shields went down. With not enough time to reload, Jeremy surged forward and brought his arm back. He threw his fist forward, slamming it into the elites face, sending it sprawling to the ground. Jeremy dropped dodging plasma shots as he slid for his DMR. He began firing his DMR at the same Elite Lys and Michael were trying to take out. Soon its shields were down and it hit the floor covered in purple blood. That's when Jeremy saw his shield bar go down. He jumped to the left diving behind a crate for cover.

"Eat this you bastards!"

The cry caught Lys, Michael, and Jeremy by surprise. Jeremy saw a mongoose fly over his head. It slammed Elite into the ground but it had no rider. Nik was still in the air, firing his pistol accurately and quickly. As soon as his chamber emptied, his quite literally dropped the pistol onto Jeremy before he pulled two knives from behind his shoulders. Both he let fly, and he let out a grunt as one hit the Elites shields only to disable them before the second one thudded into the beasts neck.

Nik pulled out another knife from one of his leg sheaths this time and yelled. "Michael! Drill him!"

The white Spartan didn't hesitate. Michael threw himself forward, over the little cover he and Lys had been sharing. He yelled loudly as plasma began draining his shields. But he slammed into the closest elite, wrapping his arms around it and sending it to the ground. He pulled his combat knife from his chest and shoved it into the general's mouth. Lys jumped over the barrier and began firing into an elite before it suddenly exploded. The body of the elite flew into the air before crashing behind Lys. She looked up to see Thomas reload his rocket launcher, his jet pack holding him a good twenty feet in the air.

Jack was suddenly by Lys' side firing into the elites as more began to arrive. Chad moved in with Jeremy and both began firing on a blue elite who shortly fell over dead. Cameron was grappling with a general before Nik came behind it and shoved his knife into the back of its head. Two ODSTs were holding the last elite, its shields flickers as they gained no purchase of restoration. A sniper shot rang out hitting it in the chest before Nik's knife slammed into its face. The ODSTs fell over with the elite before standing. The Spartans began to move forward into the center of the dead bodies, Nik pulling his thrown knives from dead bodies. He wiped them on the dead elite's armor before putting them in their designated sheaths.

Jeremy came forward; he shoved a beat up pistol into Nik's hands before saying. "I think you dropped something." A hint of amusement in his voice.

Nik ejected the clip before reloading it and attaching it to his hip. "I hate Elites. I absolutely despise them. It takes two knives to kill them. Two… No matter how accurate you are, the shields always have to go down first. It makes me angry."

No comment came from the others at Nik's misplaced anger.

"Uh, excuse me?" A man's voice came from behind Lys. Two ODSTs shoved themselves forward. "I'm Gunnery Sergeant Buck. This is another member of my squad Dutch." The taller ODST nodded. "Do you need an assist where you're going?"

Jeremy shook his head. "No thank you. We've got to be quick and… No offense, but you'd probably slow us down."

Buck began to protest but then he got quiet for a moment. Then he said. "Fine… Have it your way Spartan."

Dutch held onto his SMG tightly while looking around.

"You should probably re-group with your squad. It's not safe for there to be only two of you." Jeremy said as he scanned the area for vehicles. He was relieved to find a couple undamaged falcons in the corner of the yard.

"This is our Squad sir; everyone else went down when we came to help your team." Dutch said, sounding a bit irritated.

Jeremy looked at them, feeling bad about denying their request to join now. But they couldn't risk moving slower. "I'm sorry Sergeant. Thank you for your sacrifice."

"Don't thank me, thank the ones who died." Buck said as he hefted his Silenced weapon a little higher. "Alright Dutch, let's get moving. We need to meet up with Dare." Buck pushed his way by Jeremy and Dutch followed, both began running for the base, where gunfire was still being heard.

"Keep it real Buck!" Cameron yelled and Chad chuckled.

"Alright team. We have a job to do…" Jeremy said as he began jogging for the Falcons.

"And what's the Jeremy?" Thomas asked. Still hefting his large weapon.

"We have to save Reach. Starting with the city. They need help with civilian evacuation, especially schools. And that's where we're going first."

"I hope we run into a scarab! I want to see how big the explosion is when those things blow up!" Chad said seeming excited at the thought.

"No Chad." The entire team turned to look at Nik. His voice was monotone, dead serious. He kept walking before he picked a seat on a falcon. "No you don't…" Nik pulled a knife from its sheath and began sharpening against his leg armor.

The others in the team quickly mounted up, Jeremy and Cameron driving the falcons. As the two airborne ships began quickly making their way towards the city, the team couldn't help but noticed the bodies on the ground below. It might have just been their imaginations, but everyone seemed to notice how there seemed to be more dead humans then aliens….


	6. Chapter 6

"With everything going like this I think I would have rather prayed for plagues." Jack said quietly. More to himself than anyone else though. He was inspecting his DMR for any damage. But he seemed satisfied with the quality of his weapon. He sat next in the middle seat of the front of the falcon. Thomas sat across form him, Nik on his right and Chad on his left. Michael and Lys mounting the turrets. Cameron was of course piloting the Falcon and Jeremy was sitting behind Michael, a sniper rifle resting in his lap.

"You actually prayed to fight the Covenant on Reach? Idiot…" Michael said annoyed at the way things were going as well. No one else made a comment about it. All were wrapped up in there private thoughts obviously, besides Nik. Who was staring out of the Falcon towards the land scape that stretched before them.

"No! I mean… Go to sleep!" Jack shouted before he looked away from Michael, obviously peeved by it all.

"Jeremy let me see the sniper." Nik said quietly. Jeremy hesitated but he gave Nik the long range weapon. Without a word, Nik rested it against his lap, a hand on it as if to say 'don't touch.' He went back to looking out of the falcon, intently, as if no one else in the falcon excisted.

"Radio's say Noble Team are taking Sword base back. But the military compound outside might need assistance. We're only a few clicks south of it. We're en route now." Cameron chirped into the coms form the pilot seat. Again, grim silence filled the falcon. They'd only been at sword base a few hours ago and it was already falling. The Covenant was over powering them already.

"I see wraths, drop pods full of covenant, ghosts, and a few squads of elites heading for Swords base." Nik said. All attention snapped to him as he stared through the sniper scope. "Banshee's! Mount up everyone!" Nik said, the turrets began spinning as Cameron unlocked the altitude. Everyone got their guns ready and Thomas loaded his rocket launcher.

"Maybe you forgot Nik, but I'm the leader of this team. You don't give orders to this sq-" He stopped as Nik put the sniper down and in a blink of an eye had his pistol out and pressed against the back of Jeremy's helmet, the slick shield fluttering lightly as something pushed against it. Everyone grew quiet as they stared between Nik and Jeremy. Even Chad, who would have usually made some sort of comment remained silent.

"Don't talk to me like I'm a child Jeremy. Don't forget that in training it was you and me who were opted for leader. And don't presume for one second that I will let you get in the way of this war. This is your first and last warning. Get in my way when I'm thwarting a threat and I will end you. Understand?"

Jeremy didn't move, all was tense as Jeremy's hand curled around the stock of his SMG at his hip.

"Banshee's fast and low!" Cameron yelled as the Falcon dipped suddenly, taking everyone by surprise. Everyone seemed to forget the altercation right then. Nik traded his pistol out for his sniper and got out of his seat, he knelt on the metal floor training his sights on a banshee.

"Eat is suckers!" Michael screamed as chain gun fire began ripping from his mounted gun. He yelled over the noise of the gun, as Chad and Jack began firing on the same banshee with their DMR's. Jeremy hopped over his seat to sit behind Lys, as she began to fire on a Banshee, but luckily for Sierra team, opting not to scream.

"Hang on everyone!" Cameron said and suddenly the falcon dipped to the left as an orb of green flashed past the cabin. Chad stumbled out of his chair and fell towards the entrance of the falcon with a yell.

"Chad!" Thomas yelled, he reached out and caught Chad's wrist as he dangled out of the falcon. Jack reached out and grabbed Chad's other flailing hand.

"Pull him in! Pull him in!" Jeremy yelled as he continued firing his DMR. Thomas and Jack both pulled back and slowly dragged Chad back into the Falcon, just as blue plasma pierced the air where Chad's legs had been moments before. The plasma strayed and smacked into the deck, melting Michael's already over heating turret, as Michael jumped back as various burning holes appeared in the roof and the floor.

"I can't shake them!" Cameron said as the falcon dipped again. Nik fired his sniper rifle in rapid succession, reloading with ease as the bullets began to put a strain on the banshee. After a flew shots it exploded sending purple debris into the cabin.

Nik stood slowly and shoved the sniper onto his back. "I'll take care of this, you guys get to Sword base quickly." Nik leaned out of the Falcon, gripping onto a handhold.

"Nik! No! I order you not to do this!" Jeremy yelled reaching for Nik, who in turn whipped around and sent a foot to Jeremy's abdomen, sending the shorter Spartan into a seat.

"The thing is Jeremy, this is war. And we're not really a go by the rules squad. My point being… Sometimes orders can't be followed for the greater good." And with that, Nik pulled out a knife from it's sheath and jumped.

"No!" Lys screamed, as everyone's attention flew to Nik, he fell only a few feet before he reached out and snagged a passing banshee's wing. "Yes! Get him Nik!" she shouted as Nik shimmied along the wing. Thomas leaned out of the falcon and fired a rocket into another banshee who has seen what Nik had done, turning it into a rather purple explosion. Everyone watched as Nik kicked the banshee open. They missed the next part as the banshee turned but they saw an elite body fall towards the ground. The banshee quickly righted itself. It turned before zooming over the falcons head.

"He's done this before. No UNSC soldier knows how to fly a banshee that fast." Thomas said as he watched as Nik fired a banshee bomb into another banshee making it explode.

"Nik's obviously done a lot we don't know about." Jeremy said sounding bitter.

"He's done it! He took them all... Wait." Everyone held their breath as Cameron told them to wait. "There's another on my radar! It's coming behind him! Someone shoot it!" Everyone began firing on the rogue banshee boosting towards Nik. But they were two slow. As the banshee flew, Thomas fired a rocket.

"No it's to close! The explosion will-" Jack stopped as the rocket hit the enemy banshee. The explosion sent parts of the banshee into Nik's which suddenly sparked purple before a violet fire seemed to consume the banshee. "Get out Nik!" Jack shouted, not caring that Nik probably couldn't hear them as usual.

The team watched as the hatch of the banshee lifted before it began speeding towards the ground. It didn't make it there before a fiery explosion heated the air around the falcon.

Dead silence filled the cabin. Everyone slowly sat down in a chair. For everything Nik ever di, for all the idiot stunts he pulled, or all the lone wolf crap he stuck to, he was still one of them.

"Did he…" Cameron trailed off. The silence spoke the truth in itself.

"He saved us." Chad said solemnly, and Thomas put an arm around Chad's shoulder. The team didn't speak after that. Everyone was silent until the sounds of distant gunfire could be heard. Jeremy slowly stood and looked outside. They'd reached the courtyard.

"We're here. Come on… We can't slow down for this." Jeremy said as he reloaded his DMR.

"Shut up Jeremy." Thomas said abruptly before he stood. "Nik was a hero. He saved us and in turn has probably saved tons of lives because we'll do our job and we'll do it right. But have some freaking respect."

And with that Sierra Team made it's descent, their respectful silence interrupted with the cry of "Get out! Get out now!" from the cockpit.


End file.
